Job Tenure Drops Nearly 11% in 10 Years — Here’s a Deeper Look by Industry, Occupation and More

Written by Maggie Davis

Edited by Dan Shepard

Updated on:

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The modern workforce has experienced significant changes in recent years, with technological advancements, the COVID-19 pandemic and more altering the job market. In light of these changes, median job tenure has decreased across almost all age groups, genders and industries, according to the latest LendingTree study.

According to LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst Matt Schulz, it’s likely that job loyalty will continue to shrink.

“Between the Great Recession and the pandemic, American workers have been through two incredibly difficult periods in pretty short order,” he says. “Those times aren’t easily forgotten, and I think the lessons learned from those periods will continue to be relevant in the future. I think more and more employees will be open to other jobs more often, whether they’re actively hunting for new companies or open to hearing about new opportunities should they arise. I also believe that the trend toward side hustles will continue to grow as people seek to have more than one revenue stream instead of putting all their eggs in one basket, job-wise.”

Key findings

The median job tenure for workers 16 and older was 4.1 in January 2022 — down 10.9% from 4.6 10 years earlier in January 2012. Most of the drop occurred by January 2016, when the median tenure was 4.2. Across age and gender, job tenure improved in only one category since January 2012, with decreases of up to 17.4%.
Among industries, motion pictures and sound recording saw the largest 10-year decrease in job tenure. The median tenure dropped 46.2% from 2.6 in January 2012 to 1.4 in January 2022. Furniture and related product manufacturing (down 44.6%) and paper and printing (down 43.3%) followed. In the same period, petroleum and coal products (up 53.1%), mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (up 48.6%), and textiles, apparel and leather (up 27.9%) saw the biggest increases.
Among occupations, food preparation and serving-related roles dipped the most — 30.4% — from 2.3 in January 2012 to 1.6 in January 2022. The other biggest drops were in the transportation and material moving (down 27.9%) and architecture and engineering (down 25.7%) occupations. Only one occupation saw a job tenure increase in this period: farming, fishing and forestry, up 5.1%.
Men with a doctoral or professional degree have the highest median job tenure at 6.3 years. Across educational attainment and gender, the lowest median job tenure is among women without a high school diploma at 4.3 years.
Independent of job tenure, farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers have the highest average age by job at 56.2 years. That’s followed by shuttle drivers and chauffeurs (56.1) and school bus drivers (55.9). The lowest average age by job is 21.1 years for hosts and hostesses at restaurants, lounges and coffee shops.

Median job tenure fell nearly 11% between 2012 and 2022

The landscape of job tenure in the U.S. has shifted in recent years, with the median tenure for workers 16 and older dropping by 10.9% from 4.6 in January 2012 to 4.1 in January 2022. Most of the drop occurred by January 2016, when the median tenure was 4.2.

A possible reason for this drop may be the “growth recession” following the Great Recession, a period of economic downturn that peaked in January 2012. Workers were more likely to prioritize job safety during a period of economic uncertainty, though they may have felt more confident changing jobs as the economy improved.

Job tenure then dipped to 4.1 in January 2020. Although overall job tenure remained unchanged by January 2022, some age groups saw notable dips in tenure length during this period — something that Schulz attributes to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the job market.

“In 2020, unemployment shot to the highest levels in many decades, leaving millions of Americans scrambling to find their next paycheck,” he says. “Later, as the job market recovered, millions of Americans sought to take advantage of the red-hot jobs market, leading to the so-called Great Resignation. Because of that movement, I’m not surprised that we saw such a big drop in median job tenure in various age groups.”

Median job tenure (years)

Age and gender	Jan. 2012	Jan. 2014	Jan. 2016	Jan. 2018	Jan. 2020	Jan. 2022	% change (2012 to 2022)
Total
16 and older	4.6	4.6	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	-10.9%
16 to 17	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.0%
18 to 19	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	-12.5%
20 to 24	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.3	1.2	-7.7%
25 and older	5.4	5.5	5.1	5.0	4.9	4.9	-9.3%
25 to 34	3.2	3.0	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	-12.5%
35 to 44	5.3	5.2	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.7	-11.3%
45 to 54	7.8	7.9	7.9	7.6	7.5	6.9	-11.5%
55 to 64	10.3	10.4	10.1	10.1	9.9	9.8	-4.9%
65 and older	10.3	10.3	10.3	10.2	10.3	9.9	-3.9%
Men
16 and older	4.7	4.7	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	-8.5%
16 to 17	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.7	16.7%
18 to 19	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	-12.5%
20 to 24	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.3	1.4	1.3	-7.1%
25 and older	5.5	5.5	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.1	-7.3%
25 to 34	3.2	3.1	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.9	-9.4%
35 to 44	5.4	5.4	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.0	-7.4%
45 to 54	8.5	8.2	8.4	8.1	8.2	7.5	-11.8%
55 to 64	10.7	10.7	10.2	10.2	10.0	10.0	-6.5%
65 and older	10.2	10.0	10.2	10.2	10.3	9.7	-4.9%
Women
16 and older	4.6	4.5	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.8	-17.4%
16 to 17	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.6	-14.3%
18 to 19	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.0%
20 to 24	1.3	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.2	1.1	-15.4%
25 and older	5.4	5.4	5.0	4.9	4.8	4.7	-13.0%
25 to 34	3.1	2.9	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.7	-12.9%
35 to 44	5.2	5.1	4.8	4.7	4.6	4.5	-13.5%
45 to 54	7.3	7.6	7.5	7.1	6.8	6.3	-13.7%
55 to 64	10.0	10.2	10.0	10.1	9.8	9.5	-5.0%
65 and older	10.5	10.5	10.4	10.1	10.4	10.0	-4.8%

Source: LendingTree analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.

While job tenure has improved in only one category since January 2012 by age and gender, some demographic groups have seen particularly large decreases. Notably, job tenure among women (regardless of age) fell by 17.4% — the largest of any category.

Comparatively, job tenure among men has fallen by 8.5%, with men ages 18 to 19 seeing the largest decrease at 12.5% — though that may largely boil down to job expectations for this age group, particularly because many men may not plan to make careers out of the jobs they have at this age.

By industry, motion pictures and sound recording saw the biggest decrease in job tenure

When it comes to the industries that saw the biggest drops in tenure, look no further than Hollywood. Motion pictures and sound recording saw the largest 10-year drop, with the median tenure decreasing 46.2% from 2.6 in January 2012 to 1.4 in January 2022. The bulk of this drop came between January 2020 and January 2022, with tenure falling from 2.7 to 1.4.

Schulz attributes the majority of this decline to a combination of the pandemic and technological advancements.

“There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the movie industry,” he says. “However, it isn’t the only headwind facing that business. Streaming services were already having a massive effect on the fundamentals of the movie business well before anyone knew what COVID-19 was, though the pandemic certainly accelerated streaming’s climb to dominance.”

In fact, subscriptions to online video services reached 1.1 billion globally in 2020, according to data from the Motion Picture Association — a 26% year-over-year jump. Global subscriptions then grew by 14% in 2021, reaching 1.3 billion users.

Following that, furniture and related product manufacturing (or the production of furniture and related products like mattresses, window blinds, cabinets and fixtures) saw the second-largest decline. Tenure here fell 44.6% from 6.5 in January 2012 to 3.6 in January 2022. That’s followed by paper and printing, which fell 43.3% from 9.7 to 5.5.

Industries with the largest decreases in average tenure (years)

Rank	Industry	Jan. 2012	Jan. 2014	Jan. 2016	Jan. 2018	Jan. 2020	Jan. 2022	% change (2012 to 2022)
1	Motion pictures and sound recording	2.6	2.4	2.4	2.9	2.7	1.4	-46.2%
2	Furniture and related product manufacturing	6.5	5.9	4.8	4.8	5.5	3.6	-44.6%
3	Paper and printing	9.7	9.7	5.3	5.4	5.9	5.5	-43.3%
4	Publishing, except internet	6.6	5.3	5.7	4.1	5.4	3.8	-42.4%
5	Utilities	9.5	9.2	7.4	9.5	7.7	6.0	-36.8%